Originally posted by: 91TTZ
I disagree.
The best in the sport are always good. Usually at the highest level of any sport, the best competitors are very close in performance. Once in a while something special will come along and make everyone else look like kids.
Growing up it was awesome watching Tyson fight. There was everyone else.... and there was Tyson. As soon as someone rose up to Tyson's level, he'd dispatch them with the greatest of ease. He wasn't just fed scrubs- he rose through the amateur ranks in record time and became the youngest heavyweight champ ever. It only took him two rounds to defeat who was at the time the best the sport had to offer. They don't just hand the title out to anybody, you have to earn it.
The fact that he was able to turn pro as a teenager and win the title is a testament to his skill and power. The only reason that the competitors are thought of as scrubs is because Tyson made them look that way.
PS- My friend is a pro boxer, just had his first fight a couple months ago. At the local gyms in Philly you often see old legends of boxing who stayed close to the sport. He met one of the refs, Frank Cappuccino, who was a referree for over 25,000 bouts, (10,000 of them pro bouts), and had the opportunity to talk to him for a while. He said that there is really only one fighter to really ever stand out in his eye- Tyson. He said he was really something special.
First, I respect your opinion and do agree that there are fighters who outclass their opposition and make them look worse than they are, however I think if you look at Tyson's record opponent by opponent you will see he faced a lot of stiffs on the rise up. They did feed him bums early on which is something most fighters do on the rise. Mike had a good amateur career, however he couldn't beat Henry Tillman twice. Henry Tillman was a mediocre fighter who went on to an unimpressive professional career losing to Bert Cooper, Evander Holyfield, Dwain Bonds, Willie DeWitt, Mike Tyson (pro), and Terry Davis. Yes Tillman won the gold in the 84 olympics but only because the Soviets and Cubans did not participate.
The "quality opponents" he faced before winning the title were:
James Tillis (who had already lost to Mike Weaver, Greg Page, Tim Witherspoon, Carl Williams, Marvis Frazier, Gerrie Coetzee, and Tyrell Biggs). Three consecutive losses before he lost to Tyson.
Mitch Green - who had already lost to Trevor Berbick then basically retired for 7 years after losing a decision to Tyson.
Marvis Frazier - a decent boxer who really had almost no punch and a weak chin. He had already been Ko'ed by an aging Larry Holmes in one round.
Jose Ribalta - who lost to Ricardo Richardson, James Smith and Marvis Frazier before losing to Tyson.
Alfonso Ratliff - a blown up Crusierweight who had already lost to Tim Witherspoon, Pinklon Thomas and Bernard Benton.
His next fight was a championship match against Trevor Berbick who had already lost to Bernardo Mercardo, Larry Holmes, Renaldo Snipes, and ST Gordon.
His defenses were:
James Smith who lost to James Broad, Larry Holmes, Tony Tubbs, Tim Witherspoon, and Marvis Frazier before losing to Tyson.
Pinklon Thomas who lost Trebor Berbick before losing to Tyson. Right after losing to Tyson he immediately lost three of his next four fights to Evander Holyfield, Curtis Issac and Mike Hunter.
Tony Tucker who was 35-0 at the time of Tyson. He was someone who had fought mostly bums but had a wins over Buster Douglas, an ancient Jimmy Young, and James Broad who had already lost to Frazier and Witherspoon. He was record wise probably one of Tyson's best opponents and lost a unanimous 12 round decision.
Tyrell Biggs who was 15-0 at the time he fought Tyson. He wasn't ready for a title fight and proceeded to prove it by losing his next two fights to Francesco Damiani and Gary Mason. He later lost to Riddick Bowe and was destroyed by Lennox Lewis.
Larry Holmes who was 48-2 at the time but had already lost to Michael Spinks who was an overblown lightweight two times and after a one and a half year break from fighting. Holmes was a month or two away from his 39th birthday. To give Tyson props though he did defeat Holmes by TKO which was something that did not happen again. It is my opinion (and again it is just an opinion) that Tyson would not have beaten Holmes when Holmes was in his prime.
Tony Tubbs who was 24-1 at the time of fighting Tyson having lost to Tim Witherspoon in a 15 round decision earlier. He was probably one of the better fighters Tyson fought at the time and his defeat was probably one of Tyson's best fights.
Michael Spinks who was 31-0 at the time. Yes Spinks was undefeated, but he was an overblown lightweight who outlasted an old Larry Holmes to win the title. He didn't fight for three years so the title was stripped from him and he only fought Tyson after winning fights against the great Steffan Tangstad and a washed up (if he ever was anything) Gerry Cooney.
Frank Bruno who was 32-2 at the time. He lost to James Smith and Tim Witherspoon by KO before losing to Tyson. He was a pretty good boxer who had a pretty good punch but whenever the guy fought a decent fighter he couldn't take their punch.
Carl Williams who was 22-2 at the time. He had lost to Larry Holmes and Mike Weaver before losing to Tyson. The lose to Mike Williams was by a 2nd round TKO. He was another fighter who was a decent boxer with decent power and not much of a chin. He later lost to such luminaries as Jerry Jones (no not the owner of the Cowboys), Frank Bruno, Alexander Zolkin, Tommy Morrison (yes the dude from the horrible Rocky movie), Melvin Foster and more.
Next up was his loss to Buster Douglas who had already lost to David Bey, Mike White, Jesse Ferguson, and Tony Tucker. The same Douglas who was knocked out by Holyfield in 3 rounds.
Again, I am not saying he stunk or wasn't a great fighter, I just don't think he was as good as he appeared to be at the time. People at that time were saying that he might be the greatest ever which was preposterous. He would never have stood a chance against an Ali in his prime.
Also, good luck to your friend. Boxing is not just a tough sport, it is a tough business. I hope he does well.